1.2. At that times news reached me of the harm being done in France and of the havoc the Lutherans had caused and how much this miserable sect was growing. The news distressed me greatly, and, as though I could do something or were something, I cried to the Lord and begged Him that I might remedy so much evil. It seemed to me that I would have given a thousand lives to save one soul out of the many that were being lost there. I realised I was a woman and wretched and incapable of doing any of the useful things I desired to do in the service of the Lord. All my longing was and still is that since He has so many enemies and so few friends that these friends be good ones. As a result I resolved to do the little that was in my power; that is, to follow the evangelical counsels as perfectly as I could and strive that these few persons who live here do the same. I did this trusting in the great goodness of God, who never fails to help anyone who is deter-mined to give up everything for Him.
(3) Whoever has not begun the practice of prayer, I beg for the love of the Lord not to go without so great a good. There is nothing here to fear but only something to desire. Even if there be no great progress, or much effort in reaching such perfection as to deserve the favours and mercies God bestows on the more generous, at least a person will come to understand the road leading to heaven. And if one perseveres, I trust then in the mercy of God, who never fails to repay anyone who has taken Him for a friend. For mental prayer in my opinion is nothing else than an intimate sharing between friends; it means taking time frequently to be alone with Him who we know loves us. In order that love be true and the friendship endure, the wills of the friends must be in accord. The will of the Lord, it is already known, cannot be at fault; our will is vicious, sensual, and ungrateful. And if you do not yet love Him as He loves you because You have not reached the degree of conformity with His will, you will endure this pain of spending a long while with one who is so different from you when you see how much it benefits you to possess His friendship and how much He loves you.
10. Returning to the second point, we are not angels but we have a body. To desire to be angels while we are on earth—and as much on earth as I was—is foolishness. Ordinarily, thought needs to have some support. If at times the soul goes out of itself or goes about so full of God that it has no need of any created thing to become recollected, this isn’t so usual. When one is in the midst of business matters, and in times of persecutions and trials, when one can’t maintain so much quietude, and in times of dryness, Christ is a very good friend because we behold Him as man and see Him with weaknesses and trials—and He is company for us. Once we have the habit, it is very easy to find Him present at our side, although there will come times when neither the one experience nor the other will be possible. In such an instance a good attitude is the one I’ve already mentioned: not to allow ourselves to be seekers of spiritual consolations. Thus, embracing the cross, come what may, is an important thing. This Lord was deprived of every consolation; they left Him alone in His trials. Let us not abandon Him, for He will give us better support than our own efforts that we might ascend higher, and He will absent Himself when He sees such absence is fitting and when He desires to draw the soul out of itself, as I said.
11. God is very pleased to see a soul that humbly takes His son as mediator and that loves this Son so much that even when His Majesty desires to raise it to very lofty contemplation, as I have said, it is aware of its unworthiness, saying with St. Peter: Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man.